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Ale-8-One, known colloquially as Ale-8, is a regional ginger-flavored soft drink, distributed only in Kentucky and portions of neighboring U.S. states Indiana and Ohio. It is bottled by the Ale-8-One Bottling Company, a family-owned enterprise in the small town of Winchester, Kentucky, near Lexington, where the beverage is especially popular.

Ale-8 could be described as a ginger ale, but with more caffeine, a fruitier flavor, less carbonation, and about 1/4 fewer calories than conventional soda.

History

Early years

Ale-8 was first created by G.L. Wainscott of Winchester, Kentucky, in 1926. According to text on the back of some Ale-8 bottles, "Wainscott was an eccentric old man; however, there was nothing odd about his creation." Wainscott was a local bottler who had been creating and selling fruit-flavored sodas since 1902. In the early years, his flagship product was Roxa-Kola, a cola introduced in 1906.

Around that time, Wainscott began experimenting with a new recipe that, according to local legend, he had obtained while traveling in Northern Europe. In 1926 he began bottling and selling the new ginger-flavored product, believing he had successfully adapted the recipe for a local consumer base.

In a contest to name the drink, "A Late One" was chosen as the winning entry. Wainscott conceived of the "Ale-8-One" logo (designed to resemble a mail clerk's scrawl) as a pun suggesting that his product was "the latest thing" in soft drinks.

In 1968 the company discontinued all of its other products, including Roxa-Kola, to focus solely on Ale-8.

Recent years

For much of its history, Ale-8 was only available in Kentucky, though it was briefly available in parts of the Southeast, including Florida, in the early-1980s. In April 2002, however, the Ale-8-One Bottling Company expanded its distribution to areas of southern Ohio and Indiana through an agreement with Coca-Cola Enterprises. Today, the company also ships cases of its product directly to consumers worldwide through its website.

In 2003 the company announced limited distribution of Diet Ale-8, its first new product since the introduction of the original Ale-8 in 1926. It has since also released a grape soda by the name of NuGrape.

Despite persistent local rumors of a buy-out by beverage giant Coca-Cola, Ale-8-One continues to be a small, family-owned enterprise. The current president is Wainscott's great-nephew, Frank A. Rogers, III.

The company reports that it presently sells about 1.5 million cases per year.

The recipe for Ale-8 is a closely guarded family secret. Reportedly, only two executives—Rogers and Fielding Rogers, Executive Vice-President and heir-apparent to the company—know the exact composition.

The company readily admits that natural ginger is included among Ale-8's flavorings. A trace of citrus can also be discerned.

Social aspects of Ale-8

Ale-8 is available in bottles or cans. It is widely preferred that the beverage be drunk from a glass bottle, rather than cans or plastic bottles.

Ale-8 traditionalists are even known to refuse to drink Ale-8 from the newer glass bottles. Instead, they prefer the older "returnable" glass bottles (so-named because they can be returned to certain stores for approximately 30 cents each). The "returnable" bottles are often referred to as long-necks, while the more modern design as short-necks.

Some Kentuckians are fond of mixing Ale-8-One with one of the state's many bourbons, such as Maker's Mark or Wild Turkey. This has been named the "Kentucky Gentleman".

Ale-8 is also often mixed with vodka, with the resulting concoction known as a Tender Lovin'.

Seagram's Seven and Ale-8 are mixed to produce Kentucky Beer.

Ale-8 in television and film

Ale-8 enjoyed brief national exposure through a "cameo" in the major motion picture release, Elizabethtown, starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst. Bloom's character not only drank the beverage, but, in one scene, also sported an Ale-8 T-shirt. Director Cameron Crowe dedicated the film to the memory of his father, James A. Crowe, who introduced his son to the beverage.